1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to gentle disconnect connectors and a tool therefor, and particularly to push-pull connectors that more gently disconnect from printed circuit boards and only when the unmating of the connector from the printed circuit board is desired.
2. Technical Background
Coaxial connectors are used to connect with electrical connectors on printed circuit boards (PCBs). The electrical connectors on the PCBs are soldered to metallic traces on the PCBs, which in turn are laminated to the board material. Typical electrical connections between the PCB connector and coaxial connectors are of the push-pull type. These connections are known to cause a delamination of the soldered connections and the metallic traces on the PCBs themselves when the connectors are unmated due to the typically higher resistance required to unmate them.
Prior coaxial connectors used on PCBs have attempted to solve this problem by making the connection between the coaxial cable and the electrical connector easier to unmate (easier to pull), but that allowed the coaxial cable to become unmated when it was not desired, causing an unwanted interruption of the electrical systems. Other attempts to provide a stable connection have been to secure the connectors after they have been assembled. One such attempt includes use of an epoxy to encase the mated connector pair. This procedure can be costly as well as time consuming. Additionally use of epoxy encasement makes disconnection for repair and/or replacement difficult if not impossible rendering the whole interconnect system virtually useless.
It would be desirable therefore to provide an electrical connector and a tool that can be used on PCBs that allows for gently unmating of the push-pull electrical connector only at desired times.